Our Team
Varsity Senior Leadership Team
Donnie Gross
Managing Member
As Managing Member of Varsity Investment Group, Donnie Gross oversees the day-to-day operations of Varsity’s various interests. A serial entrepreneur, Mr. Gross has The company has more than 3,000 rental beds constructed, in the pipeline or under construction throughout the United States with projects that range from urban high-rise to mixed-use residential with ground floor retail.
Mr. Gross created the Varsity Investment Group, formerly known as Potomac Holdings,
in 2002. At the conclusion of 2015 Mr. Gross and Mr. Connolly sold TLK Group,
one of the nation’s largest call centers with clients such as Comcast and Time Warner, to market leader The Results Companies. In 1998 he founded Millioneyes, a venture backed internet service provider that was successfully exited via an
acquisition from NetZero. Mr. Gross also formed Edge Communications, a telecommunications services firm that he sold in 1997 to publicly traded DCI
Communications.
Matthew Connolly
Chief Financial Officer
With over 35 years in the accounting industry, Chief Financial Officer Matthew Connolly brings unparalleled experience to his position at Varsity Investment Group. As Principal and CFO, he is responsible for the Company’s financial and accounting philosophies. As Chief Financial Officer, he maintains strategic banking relationships and has a focal role in raising capital for future developments. Additionally, Mr. Connolly along with Mr. Gross sold TLK Group, a national call center with Fortune 500 clients, to the Results Companies, an international provider of customer management experience providers.
He also was a founder and CFO of Millioneyes, the then fourth largest dial-up internet service provider prior to its acquisition by publially traded NetZero. Previously, Matthew was the Chief Financial Officer for Saunders Group, a national real estate concern that focused on residential development.
Chad Connolly
Managing Member
The newest addition to the Varsity team, Chad Connolly joins as an associate responsible for handling all legal aspects. Prior to joining the team Chad was a public defender in Florida handling cases in both the state and federal courts. Chad received his jurist doctorate from the University of Miami.
Scott Shinskie
manager
As a partner with Varsity Investment Group, Scott Shinskie manages the development of their student housing communities. He is responsible for directing the company’s development, management, construction, and marketing activities. Scott began his tenure at Varsity Investment Group at the company’s inception in 2002. Previously, Scott was the Director of Commercial Sales for Millioneyes where he was responsible for creating strategic relationships to create large-scale growth. In addition, Scott recently completed his tenure on the Board of Advisors at the University of Baltimore’s Merrick School of Business Economic Development and Real Estate.
Joe Statter
CEO
CEO. Mr. Statter drives our growth, corporate strategy, and corporate development activities. Over the course of his 25-year career in investment banking, principal investing, financial management, and public accounting, Joe has completed a broad spectrum of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, public and private equity and debt offerings, and troubled company restructuring assignments. His expertise spans multiple industries, transaction types, and stages of company development. Before joining Varsity Care, Mr. Statter was a Managing Director and the President of Evergreen Advisors Capital, the investment banking subsidiary of Evergreen Advisors, LLC. Mr. Statter holds a CPA certificate holder and Series 7, 24, 63, and 79 FINRA registrations.
Yogesh Dorawala
Chief Operating Officer
Chief Operating Officer: Yogesh comes from a very entrepreneurial background, having experience in hospitality from a very young age. He founded his first adult medical day center in 2013 and grew the business into a highly successful operation. Mr. Dorawala developed a second location targeted to open in late 2020. His primary focus is developing strategic plans and operational excellence for each acquired center. Before founding his facilities, Yogesh managed IT services at JP Morgan and Merck pharmaceutical.
Krista Smolda
Executive Vice President
Executive Vice President, drives strategic growth and operations for the company and manages acquisition relationships. She has 23 years of high-level business experience and eight years as an entrepreneur. She also spent several years of her career at an Executive level, working with a Fortune 100 client. Her expertise spans various areas, including process improvement, change management, leading significant initiatives that drive results and efficiency, client services, sales, marketing, and operations. Krista is also the owner of IDIA consulting and has consulted in the BPO space for a decade.
Troy Belden
Executive Vice President
Former COO CareNet with 32+ years of call center and over 20 years of healthcare experience in captive and outsourced operations onshore, nearshore, and offshore. Troy led a team supporting the largest Chronic Care Management program in the country from 2015 to 2018 as well as oversaw a clinical team of over 300 nurses and certified health coaches, a non-clinical team of 1,400 care coordinators and engagement specialists serving healthcare plans and providers. Troy also has P & L responsibility exceeding $100 MM annually, tripling employee headcount and doubling EBITDA. Troy has also secured several accreditations, executed multiple acquisitions and maintained employee and customer NPS above 70% promoters.
Ben Chodor
Former President
Former President, Digital Media for Notified (formerly Intrado owned by Apollo Global Management). Ben grew the company from $100M to $300M of revenue generating a 40% EBITDA margin. Here, he also led the diligence and purchase of the Nasdaq PR/IR & Streaming Business for $335 million. He grew the PR business to the 3rd largest in the world, the IR hosting and the event cloud business to the largest in the world. Ben was the founder and CEO of Happtique, the first digital health mobile application marketplace designed by healthcare professionals for healthcare professionals. He also was founder of Stream 57, leaders and key innovators in the world of live and on-demand digital media & webcasting working with many of the world’s leading pharmaceutical & financial services companies. He grew the company from $0-$20M in revenue and sold to West Corporation over $30M in an all-cash deal. Ben also then ran digital media globally with over 500 employees for West Corporation for two years and then left to pursue other ventures.
Donnie Gross
Managing Member
As Managing Member of Varsity Investment Group, Donnie Gross oversees the day-to-day operations of Varsity’s various interests. A serial entrepreneur, Mr. Gross has The company has more than 3,000 rental beds constructed, in the pipeline or under construction throughout the United States with projects that range from urban high-rise to mixed-use residential with ground floor retail.
Mr. Gross created the Varsity Investment Group, formerly known as Potomac Holdings,
in 2002. At the conclusion of 2015 Mr. Gross and Mr. Connolly sold TLK Group,
one of the nation’s largest call centers with clients such as Comcast and Time Warner, to market leader The Results Companies. In 1998 he founded Millioneyes, a venture backed internet service provider that was successfully exited via an
acquisition from NetZero. Mr. Gross also formed Edge Communications, a telecommunications services firm that he sold in 1997 to publicly traded DCI
Communications.
Matthew Connolly
Chief Financial Officer
With over 35 years in the accounting industry, Chief Financial Officer Matthew Connolly brings unparalleled experience to his position at Varsity Investment Group. As Principal and CFO, he is responsible for the Company’s financial and accounting philosophies. As Chief Financial Officer, he maintains strategic banking relationships and has a focal role in raising capital for future developments. Additionally, Mr. Connolly along with Mr. Gross sold TLK Group, a national call center with Fortune 500 clients, to the Results Companies, an international provider of customer management experience providers.
He also was a founder and CFO of Millioneyes, the then fourth largest dial-up internet service provider prior to its acquisition by publially traded NetZero. Previously, Matthew was the Chief Financial Officer for Saunders Group, a national real estate concern that focused on residential development.
Chad Connolly
Managing Member
The newest addition to the Varsity team, Chad Connolly joins as an associate responsible for handling all legal aspects. Prior to joining the team Chad was a public defender in Florida handling cases in both the state and federal courts. Chad received his jurist doctorate from the University of Miami.
Scott Shinskie
manager
As a partner with Varsity Investment Group, Scott Shinskie manages the development of their student housing communities. He is responsible for directing the company’s development, management, construction, and marketing activities. Scott began his tenure at Varsity Investment Group at the company’s inception in 2002. Previously, Scott was the Director of Commercial Sales for Millioneyes where he was responsible for creating strategic relationships to create large-scale growth. In addition, Scott recently completed his tenure on the Board of Advisors at the University of Baltimore’s Merrick School of Business Economic Development and Real Estate.
Joe Statter
CEO
CEO. Mr. Statter drives our growth, corporate strategy, and corporate development activities. Over the course of his 25-year career in investment banking, principal investing, financial management, and public accounting, Joe has completed a broad spectrum of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, public and private equity and debt offerings, and troubled company restructuring assignments. His expertise spans multiple industries, transaction types, and stages of company development. Before joining Varsity Care, Mr. Statter was a Managing Director and the President of Evergreen Advisors Capital, the investment banking subsidiary of Evergreen Advisors, LLC. Mr. Statter holds a CPA certificate holder and Series 7, 24, 63, and 79 FINRA registrations.
Yogesh Dorawala
Chief Operating Officer
Chief Operating Officer: Yogesh comes from a very entrepreneurial background, having experience in hospitality from a very young age. He founded his first adult medical day center in 2013 and grew the business into a highly successful operation. Mr. Dorawala developed a second location targeted to open in late 2020. His primary focus is developing strategic plans and operational excellence for each acquired center. Before founding his facilities, Yogesh managed IT services at JP Morgan and Merck pharmaceutical.
Krista Smolda
Executive Vice President
CEO. Mr. Statter drives our growth, corporate strategy, and corporate development activities. Over the course of his 25-year career in investment banking, principal investing, financial management, and public accounting, Joe has completed a broad spectrum of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, public and private equity and debt offerings, and troubled company restructuring assignments. His expertise spans multiple industries, transaction types, and stages of company development. Before joining Varsity Care, Mr. Statter was a Managing Director and the President of Evergreen Advisors Capital, the investment banking subsidiary of Evergreen Advisors, LLC. Mr. Statter holds a CPA certificate holder and Series 7, 24, 63, and 79 FINRA registrations.
Troy Belden
Executive Vice President
Former COO CareNet with 32+ years of call center and over 20 years of healthcare experience in captive and outsourced operations onshore, nearshore, and offshore. Troy led a team supporting the largest Chronic Care Management program in the country from 2015 to 2018 as well as oversaw a clinical team of over 300 nurses and certified health coaches, a non-clinical team of 1,400 care coordinators and engagement specialists serving healthcare plans and providers. Troy also has P & L responsibility exceeding $100 MM annually, tripling employee headcount and doubling EBITDA. Troy has also secured several accreditations, executed multiple acquisitions and maintained employee and customer NPS above 70% promoters.
Ben Chodor
Former President
Former President, Digital Media for Notified (formerly Intrado owned by Apollo Global Management). Ben grew the company from $100M to $300M of revenue generating a 40% EBITDA margin. Here, he also led the diligence and purchase of the Nasdaq PR/IR & Streaming Business for $335 million. He grew the PR business to the 3rd largest in the world, the IR hosting and the event cloud business to the largest in the world. Ben was the founder and CEO of Happtique, the first digital health mobile application marketplace designed by healthcare professionals for healthcare professionals. He also was founder of Stream 57, leaders and key innovators in the world of live and on-demand digital media & webcasting working with many of the world’s leading pharmaceutical & financial services companies. He grew the company from $0-$20M in revenue and sold to West Corporation over $30M in an all-cash deal. Ben also then ran digital media globally with over 500 employees for West Corporation for two years and then left to pursue other ventures.
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